Ironman Florida - TriathlonFull Ironman

This was the hardest swim I've ever done. Harder than IM Wisconsin and harder than the huge waves at Gulf Coast Half earlier this year (which is the same course just one lap). What a melee. People were everywhere. It took me until I made the second turn and half the swimmers tried to cross the course that open water finally appeared. My first lap was good though and I thought I'd be on my way to a 1:13/14. The second lap was weird in that we did the return on the beach and were supposed to angle over to a return buoy near the Ford sign and head back onto the course. Problem was that about 500 people just kept angling toward the second and third buoy up the line. What a mess (and an explanation of so many fast swim times). Also, I tried something new. I put a GU under my sleeve and took it on the turn with the water they were handing out. It was great to get that salt out of my mouth and get some energy too. I stayed on the course and eventually rejoined the group. The turns were totally whacked and between them was a melee again. Once on the final backstretch I was able to gain some rhythm to head to the beach. I was determined to stretch out distance per stroke and finish with a good time (for me). Then it hit, cramping. Why? I have no idea since its never appeared in training in a long time and I was very controlled over the entire distance. I had to stop twice and straighten out my leg; first the left then after a couple of minutes the right. Very frustrating for me. I had to finish the swim with my toes pointed down which is basically like dragging an anchor. I eventually swam to the beach which had a pretty long walk out of approx. 50 yds before we hit sand and the mat. I was still pleased that I beat my Wisconsin swim but only by 3 or 4 mins.

I was encouraged to move up closer for the swim start which I did but not far enough. I really wanted to swim my race and let others pass me. I was hoping my size would assist but hell everyone was trying to swim over each other. In this case size didn't matter! I liked how I approached this swim leg strategy-wise so I wouldn't really change much here. Just keep working on improving my stroke.

Well, the difference with IM is the Peelers (I guess they don't actually call them Strippers). And usually this is done quickly and saves time. However I had the remedial peelers. I was told to head to the left. I did and no one was there. I started yelling for someone to strip my suit. Next thing I know there are three people standing around me just staring. I finally pointed at two of them, laid down on the ground and said to 'strip me!'. I had already removed my suit to my waist so it wasn't that they had far to go. Once I got the suit off I headed through the showers which were quite brisk and onto the tent. Another less organized part of the race compared to IM WI. I started shouting my bib # and volunteers were relaying the information but I had to practically go get my own bag. Then I headed into the tent which was way too small and freaking bedlam. On top of that, there were a whole bunch of people that were doing full changes! Has anyone heard of a tri suit? And please, can you and your junk move down five feet? I don't need full frontal prior to a 112 miles of bike. I finally cleared the tent, grabbed my bike and fumbled a bit with my food going into my jersey. I headed to the line, mounted and sped off.

I should've practiced with the new jersey some. It's a really good setup, a Zoot Ultra so there are more and usable pockets than a normal tri jersey. Also, I was taking it pretty easy at points trying to control my HR, but frankly I could've handled a little more rushing.

After clearing the chute from T1 I saw Deb and other friends which was very cool. I headed out on the course and started to relax my HR. My plan was to drink for the next 15/20 minutes to starting getting back some fluids and then start my nutrition plan. People were flying by me and I just watched 'em go. Newsflash: I will see many of you later. My riding strategy was to ride stronger with the wind and where the wind became problematic then don't worry about the ave. MPH, just watch the HR. I think this paid off. My only concern here wasn't covering the distance or the pace really but that my legs continued to give me problems. My quad which never bothers me and my left calve muscle attachment point were talking to me early. I had to stay at LT in most cases to protect my run. I was able to execute the strategy pretty well though. I stopped to pee in two places, at the special needs station and then again with about 14 miles to go. I didn't do this in my first IM but I am glad I did it here. I felt much better and continued to roll stronger afterward. My only complaint on this ride was the balant pace lining I saw in many places. I just don't get it. You train for three to six months then once its race day you decide the best way to perform is to break the rules. A shame for sure. Now I know that in IM FL there are places where its hard not to get bunched up. But a conscious pace line looks much different than a slow down before a hill. I finished this ride in good shape. The last seven miles on the return was pretty windy so I just tucked in an got to the dismount line. I wanted to finish in under six hours so I was happy that I accomplished this.

Drink more. It was very dry out there and while I was really putting it away but it was difficult to stay hydrated. Other than that I might've rode faster in a few places but was staying conservative for the run.

Another slightly pokey T. Here was even more drama as my bag was now missing. Looks like a gen-X'r grabbed it and was walking around but didn't hear me and the seven other volunteers yelling my number. I was concerned that my bag was lost which, of course, would tank the run unless I wanted to run in bike shoes. We found Mr. Gameboy and grabbed the bag and headed to the tent. I grabbed the first chair, changed and exited. After some sunblock (which was far better than the peeling) I headed to the Porta-John and out of T2.

The bag thing is unpreventable unless maybe I mark it with something. The rest is just picking up the pace a bit without sacrificing comfort.

As I was leaving transition I saw my friend Aimee who was shouting that everyone was around the corner. There I saw my ATL training pals and friends partying like it was the end of world and they knew it! I slowed to say hello and secretly wished I was on the other side of that fence!! I headed out to find the first mile sign and complete the final leg of my journey. I was going to run at LT or as close to it as possible to preserve my legs and try to prevent cramping. My first leg was steady and on plan. I really wanted to run a 4:30 but wasn't sure how the day would go with my legs hinting at trouble early in the day. On the first return I saw the ATL crowd again and was starting to bonk. I was slightly behind on my goal and wondering what the second half marry would bring. I needed the chicken broth (Dumbo's feather) ASAP. My nutrition plan was being executed on time. I was dropping combo's of Enduralytes, GU's, H20, Gatorade throughout the first 1/2. My third leg was slower but then about a mile or so before the park/turnaround I hooked up with another runner and followed her to the next water stop. This woke me up. They had broth there and I drank some which immediately perked me up. I would drink the broth about every other stop for the duration. Once I entered the park I started to feel the heat of the finish. Now, this park is a hot wok during the GC Tri but on this night it was cool, beautiful and quiet with the sun setting over the dunes. It was that one moment in the race that was so awesome, the one you remember. I returned for the last leg and noticed the marquis had a message for me. In fact on both trips I had messages from Deb. It's very cool. You step on the mat and it gets your number and a message can be sent to you. By the time I was leaving the park it was now dark. I kept trucking along maintaining my HR and focusing on the lights down the beach. I had decided that from the turn home I would only stop at the water stops. I also was slowly picking back up the pace. With a couple of miles to go I ran into John J. who was on a bike and called out to me. He rode with me for about a mile and a half and then headed out to tell everyone I was finishing. I truly enjoyed the girls in thongs that I was now passing for the fourth time. Thanks for those memories. I turned the corner and heard my named called. It was 1111 who at first I didn't recognize until she yelled at me and I knew who it was (Thanks Les!) and waved as I passed. I continued down the last 1/2 mile to the chute feeling stronger and stronger. I kept up the pace waving to the gang as I passed and into the chute. I was cooking along when at the very last moment I had to pull up to get the photo since the person in front of me was coming up fast. I crossed the finish line very happy to PR and return to a bit of normalcy. My handler was a friends daughter which was really nice to have a friendly face welcome you to the endzone. I got my medal, t-shirt, hat and blanket and headed off to find Deb.

Hard to say here. I was conservative to a point. I had tanked this run back in May because my calves locked up after 10 miles. I didn't want that to happen again. I also think if I had shed a few more lbs that would've helped too. I wanted a faster run but I'm not unhappy with this one. I mark this run good because I felt I did a really good job of controlling my HR and being patient.

I met Deb on the way back to the tailgate. It was great to see her. We walked back and I got a blanket from a friend, greeted the rest and sat down to a Coke Zero and a Corona. Both equally good on that cool night.


I think the weight was of some issue. I loved my new training methodology and my coach was great. I am faster than last year regardless of the course.


IM FL is much different from Wisconsin. However, I really liked this race. It is more difficult than people think even though the times are faster. You are always delivering power since there are no downhills to relax. The roads were swept as promised and were really clean throughout the course. It was noticeable since there are a few very rough spots out there. The community, fanship and especially volunteers were really dialed in, thanks to all of them. I would change only a few things. Make the transition tent twice as big. And, bring out the chicken broth from the get-go. Also place some kayaks or ref's in the water to guide people to the right buoy on the swim turn to prevent cutting the corner. (BTW: How about the dude who smuggled the swim fins into the race? How is his water cooler story going today?) Otherwise, it was a wonderful IM experience and all of my fellow IM pals from ATL did really great.